How to Train Your Dragon

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

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Users say
(47)

4 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

The 3D bandwagon keeps rolling with this smart, muscular, animated adventure. On a remote North Atlantic island, the Viking population is suffering harassment from swarms of marauding dragons, until geeky son-of-a-chief Hiccup finds an injured dragon in the woods and suspects this constant state of warfare may be unnecessary.

Rejecting the comic whimsy of Cressida Cowell’s source novel, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ is a surprisingly robust affair, backing its juggernaut narrative with a well-judged and timely political subtext which urges young viewers to question received wisdom and make up their own minds, especially when it comes to matters of life and death. The voices can be jarring – the burly adult Vikings are all Scots, while their offspring are whiny Yanks – and the characterisation remains disappointingly old fashioned and unoriginal. But the visuals are striking, the script sharp and well paced and it all wraps up with a breathtaking aerial battle sequence.

Lovely. Fantastic flying sequances and generally lots of fun. Keeps to the spirit of the books - Use your head rather than your fists - My kids resisted seeing this as they didn't want a bastardised Hollywood version of the stories but when it was finished they wanted to stay and see it again! Only downside the whiney voices of the hero and his mates ... Why are Vikings always Scottish? Legacy of Vicky, perhaps ...

Lovely. Fantastic flying sequances and generally lots of fun. Keeps to the spirit of the books - Use your head rather than your fists - My kids resisted seeing this as they didn't want a bastardised Hollywood version of the stories but when it was finished they wanted to stay and see it again! Only downside the whiney voices of the hero and his mates ... Why are Vikings always Scottish? Legacy of Vicky, perhaps ...

toothless was the best of all the recent creations out of the hollywood factory and i will vote for him rather than cameron or clegg or brown anyday -it makes you forget the elections and that is what you need too

Godfrey: Am I alone in thinking the reason why you left the UK was because you went to work in the film industry in the US? This film is not a major work by anyone. As Time Out says, it follows hot on the heels of a lot of other mediocre 3-D movies, and in no way stands out. As for going to see it as a present for your 22 anniversary, goodness - Iâ€™d be hoping for something a little more special than a ticket to a made-for-TV animation. According to Time Outâ€™s "Box Office" figures, despite having the benefit of McDonalds also globally plugging this film with their "Happy Meals", itâ€™s behind "Clash of the Titans" - and see how badly thatâ€™s been reviewed both by Time Out and Joe/Josephine Public.

Soph - get a grip - you gripe about the bickering, but bicker yourself, let alone miss the point of the comments previously made. You spare all of a few lines for your thoughts on this ordinary animation. Can't imagine what possessed them to release this with everything else 3d out at the moment - this one doesn't stand out from the crowd. You can take your 3d glasses off for fairly long stretches without mising anything. The characters are a bit bland. There was a programme on tv about how successful animated characters are created, their look/feel/voicing and so on - all of which seems to have passed by the animators on this one. Bet they're grateful they were able to arrange a tie up with McDonalds to help plug it. Yawn. Glad when it was over. Must try harder.

WOW, a real feast for the eyes and a lovely warm fuzzy feeling inside makes this family film a truly heartfelt feel good story told in the usual inimitable Dreamworks style. A simple gesture or a certain move of the eye can say so much with the artists touch that is just a joy to behold for all the family with plenty of laugh out loud moments which will have you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face and a bit of fire in your belly! [sorry!]. Definitely is more Toy Story / Shrek quality than the normal run of the mill family fare, so please don't listen to certain pretentious wannabe critics!

WOW, a real feast for the eyes and a lovely warm fuzzy feeling inside makes this family film a truly heartfelt feel good story told in the usual inimitable Dreamworks style. A simple gesture or a certain move of the eye can say so much with the artists touch that is just a joy to behold for all the family with plenty of laugh out loud moments which will have you leaving the cinema with a smile on your face and a bit of fire in your belly! [sorry!]. Definitely is more Toy Story / Shrek quality than the normal run of the mill family fare, so please don't listen to certain pretentious wannabe critics!

went to see it again, and still enjoyed it. both times went with my wife and we both can't wait for the dvd to come out, it's a keeper.
let's just enjoy or hate movies based on our own judgment & not imply other movie goers of substance abuse if they don't share our opinion of it. for me, I couldn't care less if the movie wins awards or not, if I wanna watch it, I'll do so. I'd recommend it if it's good and give honest personal opinion if I don't.

went to see it again, and still enjoyed it. both times went with my wife and we both can't wait for the dvd to come out, it's a keeper.
let's just enjoy or hate movies based on our own judgment & not imply other movie goers of substance abuse if they don't share our opinion of it. for me, I couldn't care less if the movie wins awards or not, if I wanna watch it, I'll do so. I'd recommend it if it's good and give honest personal opinion if I don't.

Linda, linda. Such bitterness. Dicky was only expressing his personal opinion and youâ€™ve pursued him with such vengeance. The whole idea is that people can post their own opinions.
With Clash of the Titans fully booked I took my two to see this yesterday. This filmâ€™s a disappointment. The older of my two thought some of the dialogue inaudible, and younger fidgeted. A mediocre critique of â€œalrightâ€� from both. This film isnâ€™t worth five stars. Iâ€™m not sure it warrants one star, maybe twoâ€™s more like it. Not up to Pixar or vintage Disney standards by a long chalk.

Fantastic film, will definitely buy the DVD. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed out loud at times and my 18 year old daughter shed a tear. Let yourself enjoy the film for what it is - a beautifully animated action tale, sensitive and funny. We loved the different types of dragons and the fact there were no gimmicky voices. The message that children may 'question received wisdom and make up their own minds', could also be interpreted as... parents should be willing to listen to their children so that their children can feel happy to confide in them. We enjoyed every minute of it. A real treasure of a film.

Fantastic film, will definitely buy the DVD. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed out loud at times and my 18 year old daughter shed a tear. Let yourself enjoy the film for what it is - a beautifully animated action tale, sensitive and funny. We loved the different types of dragons and the fact there were no gimmicky voices. The message that children may 'question received wisdom and make up their own minds', could also be interpreted as... parents should be willing to listen to their children so that their children can feel happy to confide in them. We enjoyed every minute of it. A real treasure of a film.

After reading Dicky's review on this film I must admit I was a little apprehensive about taking the kids to watch ths film.But after watching it, myself and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.It was proper champion and I would recommend it with thumbs up.The 3d does give it that edge and theres hadly a slow moment in it

After reading Dicky's review on this film I must admit I was a little apprehensive about taking the kids to watch ths film.But after watching it, myself and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.It was proper champion and I would recommend it with thumbs up.The 3d does give it that edge and theres hadly a slow moment in it

Dickie! Dickie! Dickie! Such an apt name! Violence stabbings etc and telling parents to f.....off in Kick Ass does sound particularly appealing and intellectually stimulating, especially helpful in today's ASBO society too! If you are the sort of person (who is btw far more likely to be on drugs than me) that would promote that type of film then why oh why did you even consider giving the heart-warming, child-friendly 'Dragon' a viewing? It's far too nice a film for you to ever understand the obvious 'feel good' factor it creates which means you must be totally devoid of basic human emotion - What a shame for you!
Do know lots about films actually, the difference being that my spectrum seems to be rather more broader than yours, this therefore gives me the advantage of being able to appreciate and enjoy a multitude of variety and content on all levels from PGs to 18s. I also suspect that you secretly aspire to be a 'wannabe' Time Out critic and therefore could not possible admit to any positive feedback for a mere children's enteraining animation!
Thank you I am quite flattered that you think I am a 'plant' but no matter what you say 'Dragon' still received a credible 3 stars from Time Out and all other reviews posted were of a similar opinion to me, therefore you remain the minority. Looking forward to your next film review with eager anticipation!

Dickie! Dickie! Dickie! Such an apt name! Violence stabbings etc and telling parents to f.....off in Kick Ass does sound particularly appealing and intellectually stimulating, especially helpful in today's ASBO society too! If you are the sort of person (who is btw far more likely to be on drugs than me) that would promote that type of film then why oh why did you even consider giving the heart-warming, child-friendly 'Dragon' a viewing? It's far too nice a film for you to ever understand the obvious 'feel good' factor it creates which means you must be totally devoid of basic human emotion - What a shame for you!
Do know lots about films actually, the difference being that my spectrum seems to be rather more broader than yours, this therefore gives me the advantage of being able to appreciate and enjoy a multitude of variety and content on all levels from PGs to 18s. I also suspect that you secretly aspire to be a 'wannabe' Time Out critic and therefore could not possible admit to any positive feedback for a mere children's enteraining animation!
Thank you I am quite flattered that you think I am a 'plant' but no matter what you say 'Dragon' still received a credible 3 stars from Time Out and all other reviews posted were of a similar opinion to me, therefore you remain the minority. Looking forward to your next film review with eager anticipation!

Lol â€¦ Linda â€¦ you clearly know little of the film industry. No filmmaker/ director/ producerâ€™s going to turn down the kudos of Oscars given the free global publicity it brings, increased DVD prices and sales. However, this will remain ever-elusive for this very predictable animation. As for imagination and humour â€¦ hmmmm â€¦ for anyone who wants a film thatâ€™s both imaginative and humourous, donâ€™t see â€œHow to train your dragonâ€� â€“ itâ€™s neither â€“ of an audience of c. 15 people, two walked out and no-one laughed once. Have you been taking mephedrone or other classified drugs, Linda, as itâ€™s hard to see how else you could be in any way stimulated by this film? Otherwise, Iâ€™m guessing youâ€™re a plant from the film industry, who visits this site and places widely exaggerated ratings in the hope of boosting poor ratings and box office returns.
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For anyone interested in seeing a humourous and imaginative film, see â€œKick-Assâ€� â€¦ a film thatâ€™s worth its 3 stars, and thatâ€™s consistently amusing throughout. The rest of the audience thought so.
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The Time Out â€œBox Officeâ€� page (click the link at the top of this page) says it all â€¦ this film has taken so little in the past 3 days itâ€™s not even in the top 10 â€“ and this is its opening week â€“ usually the week when a filmâ€™s going to take its most. I think that says it all, doesnâ€™t it, Linda? Dull and predictable (sorry, not you Linda â€¦ though perhaps.)
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A 1 star turkey it remains.

Sorry Dicky but don't think this film was actually intended as being an 'Epic Oscar Winning Production' However it does provide pure light-hearted entertainment and fun - unfortunately if you have no sense of humour or imagination you won't get it! As for kids enjoying it - they absolutely love it too! Ignore the negative comments and go see it!

Sorry Dicky but don't think this film was actually intended as being an 'Epic Oscar Winning Production' However it does provide pure light-hearted entertainment and fun - unfortunately if you have no sense of humour or imagination you won't get it! As for kids enjoying it - they absolutely love it too! Ignore the negative comments and go see it!

On the upside, the animation in this filmâ€™s not bad. As TO says, in places itâ€™s a little blurred but, then again, so was Avatar and Alice. I took TOâ€™s advice and saw this one in 2D.
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It has to be said that the storyline is fag-paper-thin. Both TOâ€™s review and the title of the film are enough to give away the entire storyline â€“ there is absolutely nothing more to the film than that. It really is that simple and undemanding. Which begs the question, why on earth was this film made? Itâ€™s just not interesting.
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On the basis that TO gave Avatar 2 stars (and it won a couple of Oscars for animated related effects), Iâ€™m afraid this movie only warrants 1 star. This film will never win Oscars, nor any other award. Sure, a few people from the movie industry/distributor have been to this page/site and raved about it, but theyâ€™re paid to do so â€“ and in the hope they can hype it and encourage a few people through the door. Take my advice, read the lower-rated reviews on this page, and then invest your money in another movie, or a night in with a couple of good DVDs.
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Even small children arenâ€™t going to be particularly entertained by this one. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Iâ€™m certain the box offices takings will be so low as to barely register in the top 10, and itâ€™ll then disappear off the bottom of the scale after the first week or two.